TELEVISION: Classic Looney Tunes Returns to Boomerang This Week

by Stephen Schleicher

According to the PR people over at the Boomerang Network, the classic Looney Tunes cartoons from the ’40s and ’50s will be getting airtime starting October 05.

The one-hour block of cartoons kicks off at 7:00 AM on Sunday October 05, 2013. There is nothing in the press release sent to us that says that the cartoons are going to air as they were originally seen, which may be a bit of a let down to those of us who grew up watching anvils, frying pans, and dynamite bring the funny.

Here are some of the shorts that will air during October:

Hillbilly Hare (1950), Saturday, Oct. 5 (TV-G)—Bugs Bunny is vacationing in the Ozarks and stumbles into the territory of two hillbilly brothers Curt and Punkin’head Martin. After having several of their hunting attempts foiled, Curt and Punkin’head Martin are determined to get revenge on Bugs for their humiliation. Bugs easily outsmarts them and eventually leads them into a violent square dance involving repeated slapstick comedy gags.

· Tweet Dreams (1959) Saturday, Oct. 5 (TV-G)—Sylvester tells a psychiatrist of his frustration at not being able to catch Tweety, his repeated failures are illustrated through past escapades. Apparently, Sylvester’s sob story puts the doctor to sleep, and upon the doctor’s waking up, realizes he’s got to fly (literally, by flapping his arms) to Detroit. Sylvester jumps out the window to fly after the psychiatrist.

· Hip Hip-Hurry (1958) Saturday, Oct. 5 (TV-G)—The Road Runner zooms into view, labeled “Digoutius-unbelievablii”, and then moves away to escape Wile E. Coyote, labeled “Eatius-slobbius.”. The chase leads to a 3-way Y fork, leaving Coyote confused as to which way his enemy went. The bird answers for him by pulling up behind him and beeping, giving the coyote a real headache on the rocks above. After hitting the ground, Wile E. comes up with an idea or two on how to catch the Road Runner, involving outlandish schemes and various ACME products.

· Rabbit Hood (1949) Saturday, Oct. 5 (TV-G)—Parodying the traditional Robin Hood story, the Sherriff of Nottingham catches Bugs eating the King’s carrots and is about to arrest him, when Little John shows up and tells them that Robin Hood is on his way. A variety of misadventures ensure, including the infamous “knighting” exchange where Bugs dresses up like a king, and proceeds to pound the skull of the Sherriff with his scepter, all the while dispensing an oddball title with each strike. In the end, the “real” Robin Hood appears in the form of Errol Flynn from the classic 1938 movie “The Adventures of Robin Hood.”

· Napoleon Bunny-Part (1956) Sunday, Oct, 6 (TV-G)—Bugs is traveling underground, only this time he winds up in France at the headquarters of Napoleon Bonaparte, aptly called “Headquartiers du Napoleon.” Napoleon thinks Bugs is a saboteur, and sends a guard after him. Bugs then disguises himself as Josephine and asks Napoleon to dance. Napoleon sees Bugs’ tail through the disguise and chases Bugs, catching him at gunpoint and ordering him to the guillotine. But two men in white coats show up and one says to the other: “Hey Pierre, here’s another Napoleon”, and Pierre replies: “that’s the twelfth one today.”

· Scrambled Aches (1957) Sunday, Oct. 6 (TV-G)—Wile E. Coyote (Eternalii Famishiis) and the Road Runner (Tastyus Supersonicus) are continuing their chase through the twisty roads of the desert. As Wile E. closes in on the Road Runner, a 4-way intersection is reached and the Road Runner takes a left turn. Wile E. looks back as he brakes himself into the dirt, not noticing a “DANGER BRIDGE OUT” sign, and thus falls off the edge of the plateau and bursts a hole in his shape in the ground below. The Coyote walks out of the hole in disgust and plans his next scheme.

· Ain’t She Tweet (1952) Sunday, Oct. 6 (TV-G)—Sylvester stands outside a pet store window, hungrily watching Tweety (singing “Fiddle-De-Di”) in the display area. As Sylvester is planning to cut through the glass with a glass cutter, a deliveryman takes Tweety away, to be delivered to Granny’s house. Sylvester follows the deliveryman and rushes into the yard, only to discover a whole army of bulldogs. Suffice to say, all of Sylvester’s ensuing attempts to capture Tweety fail miserably.

· A Witch’s Tangled Hare (1959) Sunday, Oct. 6 (TV-G)—Opening with the poet William Shakespeare trying to write “Macbeth,” he hears the loud screeching laugh of Witch Hazel and watches her stir her cauldron. The witch has Bugs Bunny trapped, sleeping on a platter and wakes him up. Bugs believes the cauldron to be a bath and readily climbs in, only realizing his mistake after reading her open recipe book. He quickly jumps out and runs away toward the castle, with Witch Hazel pursuing him on her flying broomstick. All sorts of “Shakespearean” calamity unfolds.

Boomerang is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s (TBS, Inc.) 24-hour cable/satellite network offering the best in classic animated entertainment. In partnership with Cartoon Network, the service boasts more than 75% unduplicated programming and is available to cable/satellite operators and their customers in Spanish. Boomerang’s official Web site is located at http://Boomerang.CartoonNetwork.com.

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Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment.

In the days of shows like Uncle Grampa, I would love to see kids be exposed to the classics that have held up for decades. I still love the fact that WB at least put out in the Golden & Platinum collections the cartoons uncut.